New York, Virginia Split Amazon HQ2; Cuomo’s Name Unchanged

After months of deliberation and rampant speculation, Amazon.com Inc. has announced the locations for its so-called “HQ2.” The new headquarters will be split between New York and Arlington, Va. The New York HQ will be in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, while the Arlington HQ will be in National Landing (currently known as Crystal City.)

Amazon expects to create more than 50,000 jobs –particularly in software development and related fields –across the two locations, with more than 25,000 employees at each. The company will also be investing about $2.5 billion into each location while receiving over $3 billion total in tax incentives.

Commenting on the new headquarters selection, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”

“New York can proudly say that we have attracted one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who in the end, did not have to change his name to “Amazon Cuomo” to attract the tech giant.

“This is a big win for Virginia,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “I’m proud Amazon recognizes the tremendous assets the Commonwealth has to offer and plans to deepen its roots here.”

Additionally, Amazon announced they would open a new “Operations Center of Excellence” in downtown Nashville, Tenn. This location will be responsible for the company’s customer fulfillment, transportation, and supply chain segments; and is expected to create more than 5,000 jobs.

Hiring at both new headquarters and the center of excellence are expected to begin in 2019.

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